The Maysville City Council spent more than an hour at a meeting last week looking over the city’s proposed 2012 budget, which currently relies on the contingency fund to cover its expenses.
The fund’s depletion became the starting point for the council’s first budget workshop last week as city clerk Barbara Thomas confirmed the emergency account would drop next year to about $10,000 from its current level of $47,531.
Such a dip will happen only if the budget is adopted as is, which prompted council to discuss cuts before it meets again at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“We’ve never been that low,” said Mayor Jerry Baker, whose term in office ends this year. “That is an uncomfortable zone.”
Baker focused on the public safety budget as inflated and encouraged the council to examine chief Clarence Sullens’ projections for 2012.
Sullens’ department added nearly $30,000 over this year’s funding, which is currently $246,000. Most of the extra money is designated for the city’s new, full-time officer, Thomas reported.
Because Maysville did hire another officer, Baker urged the council to question Sullens, who was on vacation last week and did not attend the meeting. Specifically, Baker wanted to know how patrol shifts are scheduled, whether shifts overlap, and why the department still needs part-time officers. (Projected part-time salary figures did lessen by $12,400 because of the officer’s hiring, Thomas confirmed.)
The mayor also raised the idea of curbing the city’s take-home car policy for police, which Thomas estimated could save as much as $10,000 a year in wear and tear, maintenance and gasoline costs.
“(Chief) Sullens needs to figure out what we can do there, that’s our biggest money,” Baker said, referring to Sullens’ $276,041 budget.
But several council members expressed reluctance to focus only on the police budget or public safety cuts, which might take away from the department’s ability to patrol the city 24 hours a day.
Clay Dorsey, who represents Ward I, feared that cutting money for part-time officers would leave residents vulnerable. He also questioned other city expenses, which he felt the council should examine as well. As an example, Dorsey brought up the recent hiring of contractors to clear a Maysville street of a large, fallen tree. City workers could have handled such a job, Dorsey said.
“We buy equipment for a reason, to utilize it,” he added. “I can’t understand it.”
Baker asked whether or not a workers’ compensation claim, should a city worker be hurt during such debris removal, might equate to a greater financial liability for the city.
Dorsey shook his head slightly before answering to his overall point.
“There are ways the whole budget can be cut,” Dorsey said.
Utility costs are line items expected to come under review again this week with power estimates up by an estimated $2,000 for the library and $500 for streetlights.
While the streetlights are not up as much as the library bills, whose insulation issues Thomas questioned, the total cost for the streetlights is tabbed right at $15,000.
The council agreed that the issue is a tricky subject for residents, who appreciate the extra light but may not understand their cost when other services have to be sacrificed.
Additionally, the council expressed interest in examining the cost of the city’s Web site, which is budgeted for $6,000 in 2012.
Maysville’s next budget workshop is planned for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at the library.
